Students and faculty gathered together for JA’s annual student-planned and faculty-facilitated Black History Month Chapel today, hearing readings and music prepared by current students. They were inspired by the words of alumna Dr. Brett Ball ’11, who helped initiate the plans for Black History Month Chapel during her time as a junior at JA 14 years ago. Today, she spoke about her faith in Jesus Christ and the call, the cost, and the reward of living out a dream.
Road to JA and Beyond
Originally from McLain, Mississippi, Ball, her mom, and two sisters moved to Jackson when her mother accepted a coaching position for Jackson State women’s basketball after her mother’s term as the first Black and female Mayor of McLain. Ball eventually found success on the basketball court, helping the Lady Raiders win back-to-back state championships, receiving all-tournament and all-star selections, and other accolades. She knew her and her sister’s attendance at JA was much bigger than basketball. Ball said that while a junior at JA, God placed the seed of the first black history program on her heart.
With professional basketball in sight, Ball signed to play college basketball at the University of South Carolina for Head Coach Dawn Staley and remains the only JA girls basketball player to sign with an SEC school for basketball. During her freshman season, Ball learned she had a career-ending health condition and was declared medically ineligible to compete by the NCAA. That crisis set her on a new path to a career in sports communication, with an emphasis on mental health and how athletes cope with injury, illness, and career-changing circumstances.
“This is a career that kind of found me,” said Ball in a previous interview with JA. “My injury really sparked this career.” Ball continued to be shaped by the foundation of discipline in academics and basketball that she learned at JA. “A disciplined person can do anything,” she recalls hearing from Head Varsity Girls Basketball Coach Jan Sojourner. “You can take principles you learned at JA and apply them to life.” At chapel today, she credited Coach Sojourner with being instrumental in her attendance at JA. Later in the day, she spoke to the JA Lady Raiders.
Ball is an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. She earned her bachelor of arts from USC, her master’s in integrated marketing communications from Ole Miss, and her doctorate in mass communications from USC. She is also a Mississippi filmmaker and color analyst for the South Carolina Women’s Basketball home games on the SECNetwork+.
Current Focus, Passion and Expertise
Driven by a deep passion for sports research, body image, social media, race, gender, female athletes’ mental health, and storytelling, Ball excels in advocating for athlete’s mental health, empowering athletes, and challenging negative stereotypes of Black female media portrayals through research and film. She has traveled to study, present, and discuss these topics domestically and internationally in Brazil, Scotland, and Spain. Ball is establishing herself in sports media research and the film industry to become a thought leader on body image for Black female athletes and a sports media figure who tells compelling stories of athletes.
She encouraged students at the chapel to count the cost of living out their dreams. “This is not to be afraid of but to understand what it takes to achieve what you want,” she said. “The reward is that you get to be whoever you want to be.” She encouraged students to be grateful for the opportunity to get an education that allows them to be what they want. She said someone in the past paid a cost for that opportunity students enjoy today.
Currently, her projects include rebranding her web series Ballin’ with Brett™, directing and co-producing with her sister Katie – also a JA alumna – a three-part docuseries based in Mississippi called “Planted: The Sheroes Amongst Us,” which explores the lives of eight African American heroic sisters.
Living Out Her Faith
At the core of Ball’s journey is faith in Jesus Christ, resilience, perseverance, and gratitude. She believes education and sports are pathways to strengthening and living out her faith. Ball embodies strength, courage, and authenticity, which are part of the core principles personified by her ancestors and the African American culture. After 14 years, it’s full circle for Ball to return to what she started.
